Maybe not your mom’s cinnamon buns. But maybe even better.

And you thought you’d tried every cinnamon bun recipe in the world, right?

I mean, there’s no way to make cinnamon buns other than the tried-and-true, classic “make sweet dough, sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar, roll up, cut, rise, bake, glaze, YUM.”

Is there?

There is indeed.

The challenge: cinnamon buns that are AWESOME right out of the oven, but hard and dry within hours.

This is a conundrum we’ve gone round and round with in the test kitchen. Why does a typical sweet roll dough – high in both fat and sugar – seem to dry out so quickly?

You’d think the fat would keep it soft. But it doesn’t. So, is sugar the culprit?

I’m guessing yes. Sugar is hygroscopic; it attracts water. Therefore, when it’s in (or on) dough, it must draw water out of the dough making the dough dry. (Food scientists, tell me if I’m all wet here, OK?)

Thus, the less sugar in and on the dough, the more liquid remains IN the dough, the more tender and moist your buns should be.

Where’s most of the sugar in cinnamon buns? Truth be told, almost all of it’s in that confectioners’ sugar glaze slathered on top, after baking.

If you didn’t add much sugar to the dough itself; then didn’t sprinkle the rolled-out dough with cinnamon-sugar, but instead used just plain cinnamon, would the buns retain their moisture and stay tender longer?

Hmmm…

I tried it. I liked it. These rolls are soft, plenty sweet, and nicely cinnamon-y. And they seemed to stay soft longer than high-sugar buns.

Please try them and tell me what you think, OK?

America’s Test Kitchen, indeed – let’s ALL get involved here!

Cinnamon buns need to start with cinnamon, of course. And here it is, one of our best-selling products: Vietnamese cinnamon. I recently wrote about this pungent cinnamon in an earlier post, but the information bears repeating.

Because of its higher oil content, Vietnamese cinnamon disperses more fully throughout your baked treats, giving them cinnamon-through-and-through flavor. The flavor of this cassia cinnamon just pops, too – it’s considered by chefs in the know to be the world’s finest cinnamon.

It’s OK if the dough sticks to the bowl a bit; better a dough that’s too soft than too dry.

Of course, you don’t have to use an electric mixer. You can get the dough to this point by using a bread machine or your hands, too.

Notice this is a fairly smooth dough, but it does have a bit of surface roughness; that’s OK.

Place the dough in a lightly greased container — an 8-cup measure works well here — and allow the dough to rise for 60 to 90 minutes, until it’s just about doubled in bulk.

See? Just about doubled. Look at those nice air bubbles.

Gently deflate the dough, and transfer it to a lightly greased work surface. Shape it into a rough rectangle.

Roll the dough into a 16” long rectangle, about 12” wide. This soft dough rolls easily, so you shouldn’t have much trouble with shrinking or “push back.”

Sprinkle 2 teaspoons cinnamon over the surface of the dough. A small sieve or tea strainer works well here.

How come plain cinnamon, not cinnamon-sugar? Because sugar is hygroscopic, and will draw moisture from the dough. The result? Cinnamon buns that aren’t as moist as they might be. Don’t worry, the final sugar glaze on top will give you plenty of sweetness.

Ready to roll!

Starting with a long side, roll the dough into a 24” log.

Hey, didn’t we roll this into a 16” rectangle? How come we end up with a 24” log? Because as you roll, the dough stretches. If it’s not quite 24”, no sweat; it’ll be fine.

In order to make the neatest job of cutting the buns, use a sharp knife to mark the log at 1” intervals.

Here’s a trick beloved by King Arthur bakers all over the company: using dental floss to cut the neatest possible cinnamon or sticky buns.

Turn the hot buns out of the pan onto a rack, and brush each pan with 1 tablespoon melted butter. this will help keep the buns soft and tender.

Spread with the glaze, and serve immediately.

To serve the buns later: Turn the hot buns out of the pan onto a rack, and brush with the melted butter. Cool completely. Wrap airtight and store at room temperature for a couple of days; for longer storage, freeze.

Just before serving, tent the buns lightly with foil, and rewarm in a preheated 350°F oven for 10 minutes (a bit longer, for frozen buns).

Stir together the glaze, brush over the buns, and serve warm.

Want to serve only half the buns now? Make just half the glaze. If you reheat a glazed bun, the glaze melts and disappears. Reheat a plain bun, then glaze – ah, that’s the ticket!

PJ Hamel was born in Wisconsin, grew up in New England, and graduated from Brown University. She was a journalist in Massachusetts and Maine before joining the King Arthur Flour Company in 1990, where she's been ever since. Author or co-author of three King Arthur ...

Hmmm. I’ve been making cinnamon rolls for about 55 years, They have usually not been around to get dried out but this method really makes sense to me. I’m definitely going to give it a try. I LOVE this blog – check it every day. The photography is always great. Thank you!

I know what I am making this weekend…I am glad you used cinnamon instead of your cinnasmear. I don’t have that on hand but have the cinnamon! Also like the tip on freezing them. I can smell them now! LOL!

Wow! These look amazing! I love this blog; the pictures are extremely helpful when trying out all these new recipes! I’ve had problems with the filling before, so thank you for the dental floss idea. If I don’t use KAF (don’t have any right now!!!) will the end result be the same with a store brand of flour? Thanks!

Can’t guarantee results will be the same, Rebecca. The problem is, other national brands have very inconsistent specs. Sometimes they’re fine – sometimes they’re WAY off. So you never know what you’re getting in the bag. Also, if you’re talking bleached flour – all bets are off. Did youknow they bleach flour by pouring powdered bleach into it? While wearing hazard suits and masks? Hmmm… sounds REALLY tasty, eh? Good luck – PJH

I agree – most cinnamon rolls are waaaaay too sweet for me, and the glaze is plenty sweet for the entire thing! If taking out the sugar makes chemical sense, then I say go for it! The glaze is the best part, anyway. (In my opinion!)

I must have missed something here. If the dough is rolled into a 24-inch log and buns are cut at one inch intervals, why do you have 16 buns and not 24? Even the recipe states both a yield of 24 rolls in the recipe summary and 16 glazed cinnamon buns at the bottom of the recipe. Which is it?

1 1/2″ intervals, yield of 16. I changed the recipe, but forgot to fix all the “moving parts” in the blog, and that one spot in the recipe – thanks for letting me know. PJH

It wasn’t till I really thought back to my mother’s cinnamon rolls
that I realized she DIDN’T use cinnamon and sugar….just lightly
buttered and sprinkled with cinnamon. She didn’t glaze her rolls
though…we ate them with a bit of butter on top. I glaze mine but
it’s more of a drizzle rather than thick covering. Hers never lasted
long but the leftovers were never hard. Who knew that being “frugal”
would translate to being “better”!

Made these as a mother’s day treat for my wife. They were SO great — tender dough, and you were right that the cinnamon didn’t need any sugar. But if the point of the exercise was to see if these buns keep well… I’m afraid we’ll have to test that next time, because they were all gone in about an hour!

Gee, Bill, too bad – for a fair test, you’ll just have to make them again! PJH

Do you have any suggestions for filling flavors other than cinnamon? I love these but hubby HATES cinnamon, and I’d love to make something he’d eat. I’ve often wondered if cocoa would work (sort of like pain au chocolate?), but I haven’t tried it yet!

Also, my go-to cinnamon roll recipe calls for butter smeared on the dough before the cinnamon-sugar is sprinkled on, and while it definitely ups the fat content, I’ve never had them dry out. It makes the filling so gooey and delicious, too

Yes, Heather, smearing with butter is definitely an option; they unravel more easily (since the fat separates the spirals), but oh-so-yummy! I think cocoa with some confectioners’ sugar would be good. As would finely diced crystallized ginger; sweetened coconut mixed with coconut milk or a touch of condensed milk; chopped dried cranberries or other dried fruit… crushed nuts with honey… the possibilities are endless and yummy! PJH

I am obsessed with cinnamon rolls. And by obsessed I mean Crazy for cinnamon rolls! I am always searching and searching and willing to bake any new recipe to find something new and tasty. (There are 4 from KAF which I alternate for variety and each is wonderful and flavorful and successful.) With that said, I am so tempted to try this recipe right now but I have one question I was hoping to get expert advice on – can I use the KAF Bakers Cinnamon Filling? It contains sugar so perhaps I should put it aside and rely on cinnamon only? It’s just that I just love the Bakers Cinnamon Filling so much I was hoping I could use it!

Mardee, try brushing the dough with water and sprinkling lightly with the BC filling, to make a very thin layer. Since the filling also has fat in it, I think the little bit of sugar won’t affect the dough much. Let us know how it comes out – PJH

Another thought, what if you add Signature Secrets Culinary Thickener to the dough. I have also heard of just adding some ordinary corn starch to the dough to maintain a soft moist cinnamon bun. Do you think this would work. I am worried that you will make me test bake my ideas and I am already baking (with your products) so frequently it is insane.

OK, Gary, you’re off the hook – I won’t make you bake more cinnamon buns! But one of these days I’ll try the Sig Secrets idea – as well as our Cake Enhancer, which keeps cakes moist. Gee, I might have to try this tomorrow… Thanks for the insight – PJH

A really nice variation is a lemon(and/or Fiori di Sicilia!) glaze. The acidity cuts the sweetness and is a lovely complement to the cinnamon. Just use lemon juice as the liquid and add lemon oil or Fiori di Sicilia for additional flavor. I’ve never met anyone who disapproved once they tried it.
And I always add some form of potato(potato flour, instant mashed potato flakes, leftover mashed potatoes, or boil one up fresh) for great moistness and texture.

Huh. I’ve always make the cinnamon rolls without the glaze, and just added frosting before each serving. Even filled with brown sugar, they’ve never dried out, and they often sit out covered in plastic for a few days because we’re a small family. I bet you can get away with sugar in the middle as long as you don’t add it on the outside. Or maybe it’s because I add butter in the middle as well? (Mine is a whole wheat challah dough filled with butter, cinnamon, and brown sugar: yum. I think I’ll make some right now!)

To keep sweet dough products moist, you have to use eggs in the dough, and let the dough rise TWICE before shaping.

ALL liquid milk needs to be scalded (95’C) to kill the enzymes before you mix it into yeast dough.

You can mix with a machine making a slightly wetter dough–the flour hydrates completely during those two risings. The baking does not completely dry out the structure. Sweet dough MUST be baked at a lower temperature and it helps to cover with foil except for the last 10 minutes.

You can use a little flour mixed with the cinnamon and sugar–the big mistake is to brush the dough with fat before sprinkling.

I grew up letting all yeast dough rise twice before shaping–and the buns stayed moist 3 days. I started cutting back to one rising–and the buns need to be et within 24 hours. Same flour, same mixing, same proportion of milk and eggs, the rising time is the only thing I changed.

The extra rise actually makes sense, Irene, in keeping dough soft – the yeast fermenting produces alcohol and acids, which tenderize the gluten. I disagree about scalding though (and this is a BIG discussion in the test kitchen) – milk being pasteurized means you don’t have to scald it for baking yeast bread. I’ll try what you say, though – egg, lower temperature, maybe add some Cake Enhancer or starch for softness/ moisture retention. Thanks for the great input! PJH

Thank you for writing about this topic. I’ve made cinnamon rolls and butter rolls with yeast and they both are as hard as rocks if not eaten within practically an hour. I’ve been searching on the Internet for awhile for the reason why this happens. (And why don’t cinnamon rolls dry out if you buy them from grocery stores or bakeries?) I’m going to try this recipe out. I hope you’ve found the solution because I’d love to make more cinnamon rolls.

I’m really bummed because I can’t eat these anymore; I’ve been diagnosed with celiac disease. My mom’s cinnamon rolls never lasted long enough to dry out and neither did mine. However, I really liked an old recipe that called for water instead of milk in the sweet dough. That doesn’t sound appealing, but nobody could tell the difference and the rolls did stay fresh much longer. (I stashed a couple away for a few days to test the idea.)

Love the blog and suggestions. I have made my cinnamon rolls with an added package of instant pudding (usually vanilla). They have always turned out soft and very yummy. Not sure what the pudding does and I haven’t yet compared the other ingredient list with yours. Hmmm! Yummm!

Heather, does your husband like orange marmalade? On Pioneer Woman’s website, she makes her cinnamon roll recipe but wrapped around marmalade instead of the cinnamon filling: http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2009/04/orange-marmalade-rolls/ I bet you could make it with strawberry jam or other jams, also. And I bet you could use this KA recipe and spread with jam or marmalade…! Yummmm.

Back to the honey and Signature Secrets ideas PJ. I think this may be helpful, even though honey is hygroscopic it is sweeter tasting than sucrose so you can use less of it than sugar to achieve the same sweetness in your dough. The liquid nature of honey may also help, but I am not sure of this. I use potato flour in my cinnamon buns like your recipe calls for. I haven’t tried Signature Secrets yet in the cinnamon buns, but next time I will. I have been going for intense cinnamon and vanilla flavor so I use Vietnamese cinnamon in the bun filling and Tahitian vanilla (a good dose of it) in the glaze. I freeze the buns that aren’t going to be consumed the first day and thaw them out as I need them.

I LOVE cinnamon rolls too, but I’m trying to get my kids to eat more whole wheat–which has a nasty habit of drying out on day 2. I’m wondering what suggestions you would have about adding a little whole wheat to the mix. I’m a devoted white whole wheat KAF user, if I went half and half, then maybe added a little cinnamon into the dough also, could I keep the buns tender enough?

We usually suggest bakers start with 1/4 whole wheat for all purpose flour replacement. Since you are devoted…start with the 1/2 white whole wheat. Add more liquid to get the soft & supple dough you expect from this recipe if the dough seems dry. Irene @ KAF

On re-reading the recipe, it’s pretty clear that hydration is being defused by the ingredients–dry potato starch, dry milk, dry yeast, dry sugar…

Try mixing all the liquid, the dry addins, and HALF the flour into a wet batter. For whole wheat, add it here before you add any other flour. Cover mixing bowl with plastic wrap. Skip the egg and fat for this first rising if you want to use egg. Let this rise for an hour.

Afer this sponge has had a chance to hydrate the milk powder, the potato starch, the yeast, and any dry sugar you choose to add, beat it well. Then add egg, oil (better than butter), malt syrup or honey (better than dry sugar), and slowly add the rest of the flour to make a soft dough. Knead by machine or hand as described.

Oil the surface and cover with the same plastic. Let rise for 2 hours regardless of how overgrown it gets. Better–let it rise in the fridge for 4 hours. Punch down and shape as desired.

For those who ask, bakery buns have a long shelf life because they get all sorts of additives put in to hold the moisture. Even if you couild buy them for home use, you really wouldn’t want to be adding them.

Is potato flour the same as potato starch? I know in the UK they call corn starch corn flour. I have a bunch of potato starch leftover from Passover. Can I use it for this?Yes, you may use your potato starch. Potato starch is made from the interior of the potato while potato flour is made from the entire potato including the skin. JMD@KAF

How would I go about using a boiled potato as someone suggested? Also, could I use powdered buttermilk rather than powdered milk?

Thanks

Clare – Try using 2-4 T. of mashed potatoes in place of the potato flour/flakes. The starchy quality of any potato product helps to brown the crust and keep the interior moister longer. Yes, use your buttermilk powder. You may notice a tang. Elisabeth @ KAF

Clare – Try using 2-4 T. of mashed potatoes in place of the potato flour/flakes. The starchy quality of any potato product helps to brown the crust and keep the interior moister longer. Yes, use your buttermilk powder. You may notice a tang. Elisabeth @ KAF

Oh, no! Not the old “use floss” instructions. I’m willing to travel from Pittsburgh, PA to Vermont to see if that can really be done! I have had zero success with the floss method. I believe the idea had its origin in at floss manufacturer Johnson and Johnson to pump sales. What about a serrated knife? Also I traditionally put raisins in my cinnamon buns (after plumbing them in rum overnight) Too much sugar? What about your Bakers Cinnamon Filling. I always have it on hand. Should I use it?

Dental Floss will give the smoothest slice possible. I think our cinnamon filling would be an excelent compliment to the soaked raisins. Frank @ KAF.

Wow! I made these last night and they were just as good this afternoon as they were last night! Finally a cinnamon bun that stays soft and moist! Brilliant! I didn’t miss the sugary filling or dough at all since the icing is so yummy. Thanks for a great recipe once again!

I know it´s common to occur when we bake artisan breads. The breads, specially those with sugar added in high proportions turn hard and not ok for ready instant consume. We need to turn back breads to the oven…or in your suggestion, replace sugar by only the Vietnamese cinnamon, it works well and breads turned most softly after they´re cooled!!
I love to test lots of different fillings on these sweet rolls. Recently i´d tested peanut, crushed honey roasted peanut with peanut butter filling and peanut butter with fondant to glaze on top…SUPERB!!
Another nice variation on that pumpkin rolls is to add papaya pulp at dough and fill with papaya cream plus Brazil Nuts…hummmmm! Deliciousssss!

My cut cinnamon buns are rising in their pans as we speak! So excited!

One question, since I followed the direction and did 1″ intervals with a 24″ log – I have 3 pans of 8 buns… works fine for me, I get to enjoy it 3 times! However, I’m assuming since they are not as thick to reduce the baking time by 5-ish minutes? Except in my case where I will be freezing them for another morning, which means I’ll need to ADD the 5-ish minutes back! ha.

Does this sound right? Basically, bake until golden brown?Yes, Renee, reduce the baking time by maybe 10 minutes for starters. And yes, golden brown is a good indictor. Elisabeth @ KAF

I love making cookies and have an extensive file of Christmas cookies. I also love working with your mixes. One of my dear daughters gave me a large KAF gift certificate for Mother’s Day. Unfortunately I have been banned from sugar due to a bout of lung cancer and medications which have led me to the door of diabetes. Do you have any yummy mixes that do not contain sugar. Oh! how I miss Gwen’s Cappachino Chocolate Chip cookies! HELP!Peg – Yes, we do have a very limited selection of sugar free mixes available. I hope these few will help you to enjoy some baked goods again. Happy belated Mother’s Day! Elisabeth @ KAF

While I’m sure the vietnam cinnamon is great in these, different directions in the ‘premium cinnamon’ aisle can make a great variety in tastes. When I make cinnamon rolls (they’re firmly in the ‘make once a year’ camp of recipes, unless we can give most of them away) I use mexican cinnamon (canela) which I think has a softer, more well rounded flavor.

Okay, first of all I truly love this blog. It is the first thing I look for every day. I’ve been a fan of King Arthur Flour for at least 6 years – probably longer. PJ, your recipes are almost always exactly to my taste. I’ve been making cinnamon rolls and sticky buns since I was 9 years old. They were so popular in my big family that mom trained us early to bake them ourselves. Following your recipe but using one cup of KAF White Whole Wheat in with the regular flour I put these together last night and baked them this morning. They are just okay. They look just like the pictures but they taste kind of blah! Oh dear! I’m afraid we’ll go back to our regular recipe for cinnamon rolls but I will continue to leave out the sugar when I sprinkle the cinnamon on the dough.

Just reporting back because I finally tried buns with a cocoa filling (your Double Dutch Dark cocoa)! I used a mixture of equal parts cocoa and powdered sugar, and found that it turned out way too dry, even though I also slathered the dough sheet with butter before sprinkling on the filling mix and rolling it up. Next time, I think I will use brown sugar to create a gooier texture, since I think the problem was that the powdered sugar doesn’t melt. I didn’t glaze them, thought it might be overkill…they were still really yummy, though!

Now another question — how do you keep the two end slices of the dough log from being all misshapen and wonky? Mine always end up with very little filling, few swirls, and they even seem to bake differently! Is there a secret for getting the dough perfectly even when rolling it out and rolling it up so the ends come out as nicely as the middle slices?

When you spread your filling spread it evenly to the end. Then very carefull roll it so you do not squeeze the filling out. JMD @ KAF

I can’t find a compromise between separated rolls that are crisp on the edge (and thus not as moist) but fairly flat on top, and snugged together rolls that push up a spiral dome in the middle when they rise and bake. Have you ever tried placing a cooking sheet (or pie pan when using round cooking pans) on top of the plastic wrap-covered rolls as they rise, to obtain flat-top rolls? Any other suggestions? A cookie sheet while they are rising and baking would work. Also you might want to try and roll them a bit looser. They are less apt to make a tower in the middle if they have a bit more room to expand. I hope these tips help. Mary@KAF

i have been baking the betty crocker recipe for years without eggs and with yeast but the dough gets stale shortly after its baked. i would like it to stay fresh longer. is that what you mean by dry out?
also how do you ensure that the buns rise evenly all across the bun and dont pop up in the center?

Yes, when something baked gets stale, it dries out. To prevent those pesky centers from popping up, roll your buns more loosely; they’re simply getting squeezed by being rolled tightly, then they have nowhere to go but UP! PJH